Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced Monday that the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select John C. Redington as an associate judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit.

Mr. Redington received his undergraduate degree in 1987 from Western Illinois University in Macomb and his Juris Doctor in 1990 from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Mr. Redington is currently affiliated with the law firm Tess & Redington, Rochelle.

ISBA President John E. Thies is proud to announce Lawyers Feeding Illinois (LFI), a competitive food and fund-raising campaign among lawyers and legal organizations across Illinois. LFI will support the work of the eight member food banks of Feeding Illinois and is chaired by a volunteer steering committee comprised of members of the ISBA in cooperation with Feeding Illinois. More information is available at http://www.lawyersfeedingil.org/

Thought you all would like to know that we just received this announcement that ISBA member Steve Baker is being honored by receipt of "The Promotion of Social Justice Award" by the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Details are below for the Nov. 9th dinner and ceremony. The award states as follows: 

"A lawyer since 1978, Stephen W. Baker has served the Illinois criminal defense community for decades both in the courtrooms - as an Assistant Public Defender and later the Public Defender of DuPage County - and in the halls of the Illinois Legislature.  He has worked vigorously for groups such as the Cook County Public Defender's Office, the Illinois Public Defender Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Steve has fought tirelessly for years against an unending tide of efforts to increase sentences, expand the scope of Illinois criminal laws, shrink our civil liberties, and keep the death penalty. His efforts merit his selection as the first recipient of IACDL's Promotion of Social Justice Award." 

Steve and other recipients will be honored at IACDL's Annual Dinner, on Friday, November 9, 2012 at the University Club, 76 East Monroe, Chicago, IL 60603.  Cocktails will begin at 6:00 P.M. with dinner to be served at 7 P.M.  

Cost is as follows: 

Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride of the Illinois Supreme Court will be honored as the recipient of the 2012 Illinoisan of the Year award from the Illinois News Broadcasters Association (INBA) during its annual Fall 2012 Convention to be held September 22 and 23 in St. Louis, Missouri.

The honor is being made in recognition of Chief Justice Kilbride’s several efforts to improve the efficiency of Illinois courts, initiating a pilot program to allow cameras in Illinois courts and increasing access to the courts for citizens.

"Chief Justice Kilbride was unanimously selected as our honoree for 2012," said Jim Gee, immediate past president of the INBA. "In addition to his work in creating a pilot program to allow cameras and microphones in Illinois trial courts, we are honoring Chief Justice Kilbride for his overall support of openness in government, including his advocacy for a commission to examine ways in which the courts can be made more accessible to the public."

The roster of previous awardees includes former Illinois Governors Jim Edgar and James Thompson; Mike Lawrence, former director of the Paul Simon Policy Institute; NBC News Anchor John Chancellor; former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald; and the late Illinois Supreme Court Justice Seymour Simon.

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the Civil cases Rush University Medical Center v. Sessions, Choate v. Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Company, Patrick Engineering v. The City of Naperville, Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Company, In re Marriage of Coulter and the Criminal case People v. Fields.

CIVIL

Rush University Medical Center v. Sessions

By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan, Ottawa

 The Illinois State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division is hosting a four-part series of Professional Development Lunches (PDLs) aimed at teaching law students and young attorneys practical steps in advancing their career. The next installment will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at noon at the Chicago Regional Office, 20 S. Clark Ste. 900.

This program is titled “Taking Charge of Your Legal Career.” It will feature the following panelists:

• Paula H. Holderman, ISBA President-elect, Chief Attorney Development Officer, Winston & Strawn
• Shaw Kasserman, Partner, Corboy & Demetrio
• Mary Sabatino, Partner, Wiedner & McCauliff

Cost: $10 includes lunch

Registration required at www.isba.org/sections/yld

No MCLE credit is available for this program.

For general inquiries, please contact Matt Coleman at mcoleman@ridgeassoc.com; Jessica Durkin at jessica@mdr-law.com; or Heather Pfeffer, at heather.pfeffer@gmail.com.

ISBA President John Thies informs members that federal courts in the Northern District of Illinois could be forced to close in 2013 for one day a week or for the whole month of February. This will occur unless congressional action is taken to avoid sequestration. Please contact your elected representative and encourage them to act at www.contactingthecongress.org.

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am a partner in a small estate planning/administration law firm in Louisville, Kentucky. We are having a hard time getting a handle on determining the productivity of our associates and paralegals. Many of our associates and paralegals work part-time and the typical metrics such as 1500-1700 annual billable hours, etc. don't work for us. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions?

A. You might want to consider using a billable/worked ratio which is the ratio of billable hours logged to hours worked. For attorneys and paralegals that are totally focused on providing client services a good benchmark is 70%-73%. If an attorney or paralegal works 30 hours a week - you would hope to see 21-22 hours billable per week. Based on 50 weeks per year this would equate to somewhere around 1050 billable hours per year. For a full-timer working 8 hours a day or 40 hours per week - 50 weeks per year this would work out to around 1400+ hours per year. Most full-time attorneys work closer to 50+ hours a week and are expected to log between 1500-1700+ hours per year. The expectation for full time paralegals is around 1400 hours.

The 70-73% ratio is ambitious - but is achievable. For paralegals this goal will not be possible if they are loaded down with administrative duties. Excellent time management and time keeping skills and practices will need to be in place as well.

Animals may be mere items of property under the law, but we all know it isn't that simple. And family lawyers need to take that into account, Jennifer Shaw writes in the latest ISBA Family Law newsletter. "Within my own practice, I have handled numerous issues surrounding the custody, care and expenses of animals," Shaw writes."Learning the questions to ask [ e.g., 'Have you reached agreement as to where the pets will live?'] has helped me meet my clients’ needs." She went on to tell a story that underscores how much pets are part of the American family.

"A few years ago, I met with a new client. She had entered into an agreed dissolution without the benefit of counsel. The parties had a side agreement to equally divide time with and expenses of their dog.

"One year later, my client was transferred to a new position. After writing a letter to the opposing party indicating that the Marital Settlement Agreement failed to address issues regarding 'Molly,' I received a panicked call from husband’s original attorney. 'How in the world could I forget to include a child?' she exclaimed. After the relief set in, we were able to negotiate an agreement that provided for Molly to visit Husband when Wife returned to the area for holidays and vacations."

Here's the great part. "The strict letter of the law provided that as pre-marital property, Molly could have been awarded exclusively to my client," Shaw writes. "Nonetheless, she strongly believed that Molly would benefit from continued contact with her ex." Read the entire article.

The Supreme Court of Illinois has announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders entered yesterday, during the September 2012 Term of Court. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law. All information is provided by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.